to: enable the Australian Grape and Wine Authority to implement, facilitate and administer programs for cider and in relation to international wine tourism, and to administer grant programs for wine; change the authority’s name to Wine Australia; and amend the short title of the Act to the

The bill: establishes the Regional Investment Corporation to administer farm business loans and financial assistance granted to states and territories in relation to water infrastructure projects, and any future programs prescribed by rules; provides for the corporation’s functions, operating mandate, ministerial directions, board membership and appointment of a chief executive officer and staff; and provides for miscellaneous matters, including the recovery of costs, delegations, power to make rules, and an independent review of the operation of the Act before 1 July 2024.

to cease the Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority (APVMA) Advisory Board;

Agricultural and Veterinary Chemicals Code Act 1994

to: amend the information that the APVMA is required to provide to Food Standards Australia New Zealand; and amend an incorrect reference in the Agvet Code;

Australian Meat and Live-stock Industry Act 1997

to: remove the requirements for an export licence to export meat by-products and for certain documents to be tabled; and repeal obsolete provisions;

Biosecurity Act 2015

to make minor technical amendments;

Dairy Produce Act 1986

,

Forestry Marketing and Research and Development Services Act 2007

and

Sugar Research and Development Services Act 2013

to remove the requirements for certain documents to be tabled;

Farm Household Support Act 2014

to remove the ability of the secretary to delegate their general rule-making power;

Fisheries Administration Act 1991

to cease the Fishing Industry Policy Council;

Fisheries Management Act 1991

to: enable the Australian Fisheries Management Authority to renew an existing permit without existing permit holders needing to re-apply; transfer the functions of the Statutory Fishing Rights Allocation Review Panel to the Administrative Appeals Tribunal, and cease the panel; and remove the text of the Treaty on Fisheries between the Governments of Certain Pacific Island States and the Government of the United States of America;

Illegal Logging Prohibition Act 2012

to enable the secretary to delegate certain powers;

Primary Industries Research and Development Act 1989

to remove the requirement for the minister to organise an annual co-ordination meeting for the chairs of the statutory research and development corporations; and

Water Amendment (Review Implementation and Other Measures) Act 2016

to clarify dates for water-related reviews and change a commencement date. Also repeals the

Rural Adjustment Act 1992

to cease the National Rural Advisory Council, makes consequential amendments to the

to clarify the validity of ministerial acts and the operation of provisions about the management of compilations prepared for the Federal Register of Legislation;

Archives Act 1983

to: provide the National Archives of Australia with tools to manage high-volume applicants requesting access to records; and make other minor technical amendments;

Bankruptcy Act 1966

to clarify that the Family Court of Australia has bankruptcy jurisdiction when a trustee applies to have a financial agreement set aside under the

Family Law Act 1975

;

Domicile Act 1982

to provide that it applies to territories currently specified in the Domicile Regulations 1982;

Evidence Act 1995

to amend the presumption about when postal articles sent by prepaid post are received;

Family Law Act 1975

to: introduce new offences relating to international parental child abduction and to allow a person to request a location order for the purposes of the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction; clarify who may perform the powers of the registry managers; align financial and other provisions for de facto and married couples; make various amendments relating to the operation of the family law courts; and make minor and technical amendments;

International Arbitration Act 1974

to: specify the meaning of ‘competent court’ for the purpose of the Model Law; clarify procedural requirements for enforcement of an arbitral award; modernise provisions governing certain arbitrators’ powers; and clarify the application of certain confidentiality provisions;

Marriage Act 1961

to: remove outdated concepts and ensure consistency with the

Family Law Act 1975

in relation to parental consent for the marriage of minors; and make minor and technical amendments; and

Sex Discrimination Act 1984

to remove the exemption for discrimination against women employed, engaged or appointed in Australian Defence Force positions involving combat duties. Also makes consequential amendments to nine Acts.

Introduced with the Commercial Broadcasting (Tax) Bill 2017, the bill amends the

Broadcasting Services Act 1992

to: abolish the ‘75% audience reach rule’, which prohibits commercial television broadcasting licensees from controlling licences whose combined licence area populations exceed 75 per cent of the Australian population; abolish the ‘2 out of 3 cross-media control rule’, which prohibits control over more than two out of three regulated media platforms in any one commercial radio licence area; provide additional local programming obligations for regional commercial television broadcasting licensees; amend measures relating to the anti-siphoning scheme and the anti-siphoning notice, including extending the automatic delisting period and removing the multi-channelling rule; abolish broadcasting licence fees, datacasting charges and apparatus licence fees paid by commercial broadcasters; provide for collection and assessment arrangements for the new transmitter licence tax; establish a transitional support payment scheme for certain commercial broadcasters; and require the Australian Communications and Media Authority to undertake a review by 1 July 2021.

to: abolish the ‘75% audience reach rule’ which prohibits commercial television broadcasting licensees from controlling licences whose combined licence area populations exceed 75 per cent of the population of Australia; abolish the ‘2 out of 3 cross-media control rule’ which prohibits control over more than two out of three regulated media platforms in any one commercial radio licence area; and provide additional local programming obligations for regional commercial television broadcasting licensees.

to enable a policy framework to broaden and expand the conditions under which a positive test result of prohibited substances must be disregarded;

Defence Reserve Service (Protection) Act 2001

to: extend the application of employment, partnership and education protections to all types of Reserve service; extend the application of financial liability and bankruptcy protections to full time service that is operational service; protect reservists in the workplace from harassment or detriment including victimisation relating to their status or service as a reservist; and introduce a civil penalty regime to complement existing criminal offences;

Defence Reserve Service (Protection) Act 2001

and the proposed

Regulatory Powers (Standardisation Reform) Act 2017

to make amendments contingent on the commencement of the

Regulatory Powers (Standardisation Reform) Act 2017

;

Intelligence Services Act 2001

,

Navigation Act 2012

and

Telecommunications Act 1997

to transfer hydrographic, meteorological and oceanographic functions from the Royal Australian Navy to the Australian Geospatial-Intelligence Organisation; and

Australian Defence Force Cover Act 2015

to: align certain provisions with other military superannuation schemes; and clarify the definition of an eligible child of a member or invalid.

to: increase the maximum student contributions by 1.8 per cent for four years from 2018; adjust the Commonwealth contribution amounts from 2018 to 2021 to reflect the increased student contribution amounts; apply an efficiency dividend of 2.5 per cent per annum to grants under the Commonwealth Grant Scheme (CGS) in 2018 and 2019; extend the medical student loading to include veterinary science and dentistry units of study from 2018; expand the demand driven funding system to include approved sub-bachelor courses at public universities from 2018; require enabling course students to pay a student contribution amount for any units of study with census dates on or after 1 January 2018; allocate enabling courses on a cyclical basis through a three-year tender process from 2019; introduce performance-contingent funding under the CGS; reduce the Higher Education Loan Program minimum repayment income to $41 999 and replace the current repayment thresholds with new ones, including additional repayment thresholds and rates; index repayment thresholds to the consumer price index rather than average weekly earnings; restructure the Higher Education Participation and Partnerships Program to include new student loading for students from low socioeconomic backgrounds, annual performance funding and grants for a National Priorities Pool; and make minor and technical amendments;

Income Tax Assessment Act 1997

to make consequential amendments; and

Higher Education Support Act 2003

and

VET Student Loans Act 2016

to: extend access to student loans to most Australian permanent residents and most New Zealand citizens while removing their entitlement to a Commonwealth supported place from 1 January 2018; and preserve current eligibility arrangements for several cohorts.